Secretary promises necessary facilities to textile sector

KARACHI: The textile sector, which was the economic backbone of Pakistan, would be provided all necessary facilities including a plan to increase cotton production to facilitate exporters, stated Textile Secretary Hasan Iqbal.

Speaking during a visit to the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) House where top value-added textile exporters were present, Iqbal dismissed the perception that the Ministry of Textile was not performing and existed just in name.

He said the government aimed to arrest the declining trend in textile exports and address the problems faced by the exporters as a priority.

The secretary stressed that the government was serious about settlement of all kinds of claims of the exporters because it would greatly reduce their burden. “The Ministry of Textile will assess the problems and speed up all pending payments,” he said.

He assured the textile exporters that the government would do its best to speedily clear their tax refunds and ensure that their profit margins also increase.

The government was also making efforts to reduce the cost of electricity without any load-shedding, he said.

He pointed out that their major demand was that the tariffs of electricity, gas and water, which were major inputs, should be brought on a par with regional countries so that the exporters could compete in the global market.

Saying that textile industries were treated like general industries, he asked the government to give a separate status and top priority to the textile exporting units in the supply of utilities.

He said Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir had been repeatedly giving statements about an upcoming incentive package for the textile Industry, prompting foreign buyers to ask for price discounts.

However, he said, these were just statements and nothing was being offered to the exporters.